Welcome to My Worst Nightmare
by Columbia fangirl
Summary: Laurel Shepard doesn't understand why her once beautiful dreams have taken a nightmarish turn. Family issues and past troubles resurface as she makes her way through her foggy hometown with a young clerk. Slightly AU. This story takes place about eight years before the events of SH 2.
1. Chapter 1

**This will likely be the most confusing thing you've ever read. Forgive my horribleness, I've been writing this story for fun and just wanted to share it to see what others thought. **

The dreams had become increasingly awkward and senseless lately. She didn't quite get what was happening, although everything was there. How were you supposed to find what you needed when you didn't know what you were looking for? The screams, the pleas for help, the pointless wondering… And then nothing. No one in her dreams had ever come to her aid, which was disturbing.

She always had unnaturally vivid dreams. Laurel, that is. Where some people would get a lucid dream here and there, hers were always articulate and beautiful. What details that may've been muddled to others were quite clear in her mind. Maybe she paid attention, or maybe she was just a little bit better at watching her surroundings than most.

And that in itself made had always given her an awestruck feeling.

But for some reason, her dreams were differing lately. Instead of the picturesque blue skies and perfect green grass, she was getting darkness and death. It was troubling, yes.

But it was also quite the interesting change.

Her lifestyle was no different than it had been. No major life changes, no startling revelations by anyone, no horrible loss to cope with… she was just normal.

And she could deal with that just fine. Up until the odd warning she received from a little girl, Laurel had never once feared for her sanity.

"You need to be careful, L. Tell somebody." She was a cute little blonde, although considerably younger than herself. Maybe seven, she guessed. This of course made her a decade younger, someone Laurel wouldn't know unless she was family—which she wasn't.

And that nickname she used, _L_. No one called her that, much less a stranger. She was Laurel to friends, although her family tended to use her middle name. Not that it mattered, she was the first person Laurel had met while dreaming in weeks. Things must've been getting better, right?

"No I don't! They'll think I'm crazy," she murmured. The little girl shook her head vehemently in response. "Oh, really now? So you know my family, too?" It was meant to be mocking, although she was shocked when her voice sounded so resigned.

"You think you're so special that you get these dreams, huh?" she gestured around wildly, almost twirling.

"Well, ye—" Fun. She just loved getting cut off by someone in a _dream_. Nightmare…

Whatever this was anymore.

"You're not. Your daddy may try to put you in a crazy house, but they can't deny it. Everybody in this freaky family is _exactly _the same. You'd be shocked at the family secrets they keep because no one talks about anything." She had this self-satisfied look on her face, like a child after telling something her parents had said not to.

Which was probably exactly what she'd just done, really.

Laurel raised an eyebrow but broke into a large grin. This girl had spunk, and reminded her of someone that she once knew but couldn't put a name on.

"Okay," she nodded, repeating "okay."

"That's it? No screaming? No telling me I'm a liar? Not even a question?! Gosh, this isn't as fun as I thought it'd be." She began to walk away, probably to go pout alone.

"No, no, I've got a question." Laurel called, causing the little girl to turn quickly. "Who are you and how do you even know this?"

The girl's eyes gleamed. "Can't tell ya. I gotta get going, things to draw and stuff, y'know?"

"_Okay_…" That was weird.

"Oh, and you should probably wake up now!" She called as she began to run in the other direction. She watched the ponytail bounce until the girl was too far away to see anymore.

Wake up.

She'd been sleeping?

_Wake up._

It shouldn't be so difficult to distinguish the two.

Wake up!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: You should know I don't own Silent Hill, but just to make sure, I don't! **

Laurel awoke to complete darkness. She attempted to get up before realizing she had a sleeping mask over her face. She'd been forced to wear one since the darker dreams had started happening. It didn't bother her, as she'd already noted, but her mother had noticed her thrashing around and demanded she wear it.

"I don't want you scratching your pretty little face up, sweetie." She'd said with a knowing smile.

Now this thing was just an inconvenience. Tearing the soft pink mask of, she was shocked to see where she was. Now that she could see, this was clearly not her happy little pink bedroom, but a rather gloomy school hallway.

"Creepy!" she said in a groggy tone. Laurel leaned against the wall for a moment, gathering her bearings. "I think this is the elementary school…"

It'd been a while since she'd attended, having been homeschooled after an incident in this very school's playground. Those kids had been _scary_, tricking her into doing things she didn't want to.

So she'd stayed home in a small cabin by Toluca Lake being taught and coddled by her mother while daddy was away. Her father worked as a clerk in Brahms, always talking about how they should live there so they could be a family again.

Of course, her parents weren't married anymore so she didn't see why they would all need to live together. But when she visited him, her father was always asking about her mother. How was she? Was she getting enough sleep? Was she seeing someone?

Laurel had always noticed the fear in his pretty hazel brown eyes, much like hers, at the last question.

A question he'd asked just yesterday, the moment after he'd taken her bags up to her temporary home.

But this wasn't Brahms! This was Midwich Elementary, which was in Silent Hill… which meant she needed some freaking answers now. Her dad wasn't the pranking type, and he knew how she got when she was alone for too long. He wouldn't be so cruel.

But then again, what freak would kidnap a seventeen year old girl just to leave her in a school?

Within seconds, movement down the hallway caught her eye. Laurel began to wave her hands at the person, hoping it was someone old enough to drive her home.

"Hello, don't leave! Are you a janitor or something? I really need a ride home!" Whoever it was turned around, and she began to run down the hallway, hoping they wouldn't think she was high out of her mind and call the cops.

"Did you hear me?" she asked, breathing heavily. Long hallway. Now that she was closer, Laurel quickly realized that this _person _couldn't possibly be a person that would be of any assistance.

Or even a human, for that matter. It's skin was a sickly looking pale, with awkward looking legs and no arms that she could see. Laurel began to back away quickly, trying to forget her churning stomach. The monster began to move a little more quickly, so like any normal person, she turned and ran.

Straight into a window. Despite the initial shock of the fact that this thing was so clean compared to its surroundings, she quickly realized that she was in fact cornered.

"It's a nightmare. That's how this is so impossible. Yeah," she began to murmur. But the thing that was moving closer was too real. The glass on her back was too cold. This might've been the stuff of nightmares, but it was quite real.

Tears stung her eyes at this odd way of dying. By some freak of nature in a school that wasn't even close to where she'd been. Of course, at this moment fight or flight kicked in, along with an old memory.

"Be observant. It could save your life one day, sweetheart." Her father was standing in a forest, the leaves on the trees a beautiful variety of oranges and reds. He was gesturing towards the ground, at a cute little bug that she'd been close to stepping on. "Or his."

In her memory he smiled quite sweetly, the lines on his face less evident, and picked up the insect, moving it off of the trail and placing it in safer, more leafy territory. When he came back he picked up the young Laurel and swung her around, always trying to associate life lessons with fun.

Finally normality came back and she had a slight idea.

There was a door, but upon trying to get in she not only noticed that it was locked, but also a stairwell. Not really helpful, considering she had no interest in going up, but getting out of this whole freaking building.

There were several scattered papers on the ground, almost completely covering what seemed to be the only weapon around. She hurriedly brushed them off, picking up the odd item.

The thing was closer now, but she had time.

"Back up, man…woman. Whatever! I swear I'll," she looked sadly at her little weapon. "Clipboard you to death! Do you really wanna tell your monster buddies that you were killed by a clipboard?"

No response. Not that Laurel had really been expecting one. But at last, there was hope. Her back was to the window when the moonlight reflected on something shiny almost entirely engulfed by the papers. Squealing in delight, she grabbed it up, dropping the clipboard in the process.

It broke in half on impact, which was strangely amusing. A second ago she was about to fight with it.

"I got a hammer, bitch!" With this, Laurel stuck her tongue out and twirled on her feet to face the window, smacking it with all that she had. It awkwardly cracked and she winced a bit.

No, not at the fact she was screwing with school property, but that the glass _really_ needed to break faster if she wanted to live.

It took a few times, but afterwards it was actually suitable to jump out of.

She hoped that she'd land on her feet, which happened. If you count hitting on your feet and rolling a bit, that is. The window had been on the first floor, but the fall still hurt a little. At least now she had options on where to go.

Hammer in hand, Laurel ran through the school parking lot. It was foggier than usual, and it was hard to see even a few feet in front of her, but hey—she had a hammer!

Yeah, her attempts at humor were falling quite flat in this situation.

A small sign towards the beginning of the parking lot came into view, and she awkwardly read it to herself in the darkness.

"_Brahms _Elementary? Seriously? I highly doubt all schools look alike." Of course, signs had never lied to her before. "Guess it's walking time."

She shrugged, moving her auburn hair out of her face and walking awkwardly along the deserted street.

After an excruciatingly long walk, and running from every slight noise, a store came into view. Not that she had any money, of course. Hell, she was still in her nightie! Those things didn't come with pockets, and it wasn't as if she just slept with a wallet.

Surprisingly, there was a light on in the small white building, and a man standing behind a counter. A _human! _At least, he seemed like a man from the way she was viewing him. Walking closer, she could see through the window that he was indeed a man. A rather attractive one at that, which was a definite plus in this situation.

Who doesn't like some eye candy after you've just gone through hell?

Running, Laurel burst through the door. She was sure she was grinning like an idiot at this point, but she still kept going, throwing herself into the arms of the clerk.

"Thank God! I thought I was alone in this freaking town." She sobbed into his jacket, no doubt looking like a lunatic. She looked up, wiping her tears away.

The man who was holding her was blonde with the prettiest green eyes she'd ever seen. Even better, he seemed concerned.

"Are you…okay?" he asked awkwardly, setting the strange girl down on the counter. "Do you want something? I just made a fresh pot of coffee."

Gross. Laurel hated coffee with all she had, but the sweet look on his face made it hard to say no. She nodded, smiling weakly. As he walked off, she got off the counter, eyeing the phone. It looked old and crappy, but maybe she could call her dad and figure out what the hell happened.

The blonde was coming back as she picked up the phone, setting the cup of coffee down beside her.

"It doesn't work. The phone lines went down a few hours ago. Surprising, considering people usually flood in when something like that happens. You're the second person to come in tonight, and definitely the prettiest." He winked, leaving Laurel a giggling wreck for a little while.

"Gotcha. Has anything weird happened around here?" Laurel asked, kicking her legs out like she'd done when she was a kid. She took a moment to look around while waiting for his answer. It was an interesting establishment, full of random candy that looked like it could take ten years off of your life with a single bite.

"Yeah, actually. A girl came through a few minutes ago and just jumped into my arms! Oh, wait," he grinned, meeting her gaze and pulling his jacket on. "That was you, right?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Very funny, Mr. Clerk guy!" See how long he would last with a clipboard and a monster!

"That's Mr. James Clerk Guy to you, miss." He grinned, walking towards the door. "You caught me at a good time, my shift's over. Want a ride home? You're really not dressed well enough to be out in weather like this."

Laurel looked down, slightly embarrassed by her small amount of clothing. Her nightgown was in decent shape but her baby blue slippers were absolutely destroyed. Her outfit probably couldn't take much more fighting with pathetic weapons and jumping out of destroyed windows.

"That'd be great actually." Laurel said, beaming at the idea of home. He opened the door of his car for her and she fell in, relieved something was going right for once.

She noticed he was looking towards the door they'd just came out of and was immediately worried.

"See something interesting?" she asked, batting her eyes and using her best innocent voice.

"Only you." He grunted, and she looked down, guessing that he knew she was crazy and would kick her out of his car in moments. Only after did Laurel guess that she'd just been complimented.

"But, yeah, actually. I think there's a hammer by the door, but I guess I'm wrong." he chuckled, causing her to look away with a wince.

Not like she really needed it anymore. James would keep her safe, she was sure. This whole thing was probably just screwy night walking or something. She'd go home, give her mom some crappy excuse, and find out that some vandals had broken out the elementary school's window out.

"Okay… where to?" James offered, pulling out. "Unless you'd prefer my house." He winked again.

"Uh," she giggled nervously. "I'd like to go to _my_ house. Maybe some other time on your offer, though? It's around by Toluca Lake. I was with my dad, but he's in Brahms and I don't want you to have to drive all the way there."

James gave her an odd look.

"Well, we're in Brahms. It'd be more of an inconvenience to drive you to Silent Hill, in all honesty."

"Huh, I guess the sign was right then." Maybe I'm just having a mental breakdown, she silently added. "But James, for the sake of your future wife, just do whatever a woman asks." Now it was her turn to wink.

James laughed and continued to drive, eventually passing a green sign. She could just make out the words "Welcome to Silent Hill" She smiled, happy that she was nearly home. Within seconds, Laurel was sleeping quietly.

"You're on the right track, L, but you weren't supposed to bring the clerk along! Tsk, tsk," the blonde child from before giggled as Laurel slipped from consciousness and found herself in the strange dark world of her dreams. "I think you have a crush. He's okay lookin', I guess."

"Screw that," Laurel scoffed. "I probably would've died wondering around in Brahms without him. Couldn't you have warned me?"

The much smaller girl smirked, looking strangely amused. "You're just lucky I told you to wake up."

"Whatever." Kid had a point. "But why is this happening to me?"

"Laurel!" was the words that jolted her awake before she could get an answer.

"God, you scared me. I was thinking we were about to get—" she looked up, shouting. "Shit, James, what happened to the road?!"

"The fog; it's too dense. We've got to get out if you want to keep going."

She shook her head vehemently, auburn brown hair flying in all directions.

"No way! You don't know what it's like out there," she felt herself beginning to tear up and moved her body towards the door. "You don't belong here anyway. You should go back to Brahms, I'll get home somehow."

How easy it was to guilt trip people. If she had to face this hellish place again, she'd rather have a person to bring along.

"Hold on," he put his hand on her back. "It's dark, and I'm a grown man. I can't leave a little girl to wonder around in the darkness all by herself, can I?"

"I'm seventeen." Laurel mumbled, putting her hand to the window. This place didn't look like home at all. She should've let him take her to her father's house. She wasn't even supposed to come home yet!

But she needed her mother's caring ways. Her dad was great, but mom's always knew what to do. Even when their daughters were crazy! Pretty impressive stuff there.

"And I'm twenty-one. Come along, miss. I think I've got a flashlight in the glove compartment there."

"It's Laurel. Laurel Shepard." She said, digging through the glove compartment to find the sad little source of light. James was already opening the door and taking her hand by the time she'd closed it up.

As James pulled her out of the car, she fell into him, hugging him tightly. "I know I don't know you very well, but thanks." She whispered, pulling away and rubbing her arms. It was pretty cold, actually.

"Don't worry about it." He looked at her with a slight smile. "But does it always look like this? I've heard that it's a resort town, but…" he gestured to the dilapidated buildings, his confusion obvious.

"Of course not! What kind of freak would classify _this _as a resort town? Seriously, it's usually beautiful." Laurel quickly decided that this James guy was cute and useful, but really not clever. Or perhaps he was just hiding his smarts under slightly simple-mindedness.

He just nodded, trying to avoid an argument with a girl he barely knew.

Laurel continued to rub her arms, looking around. This couldn't be home, could it? It didn't seem possible, but the sign said…

Fuck it; signs had been giving her terrible news all day, she was going home no matter what awful state it was in.

"You wouldn't happen to have a weapon in that handy little glove compartment, too, eh?" Laurel grinned at James, once again earning herself a raised eyebrow from the blonde.

"No, Laurel, I don't. Besides, you just got the flashlight out. Do you think I just keep an invisible spare chainsaw around?" He furrowed his brow, obviously reconsidering the whole thing. "What happened to you before you found me?"

Choosing to ignore the first question, the auburn haired girl turned away, kicking the car door shut with her foot. "I was staying with my dad in Brahms, but when I woke up I was in this creepy school, and there was this…thing. I didn't want to fight it, so I found a hammer and broke the window out. After that, I've been with you."

His eyes widened, giving Laurel the much needed opportunity to take in those dazzling green eyes again. James was strangely attractive, even if she seemed to be in the middle of hell with him.

"Gotcha," he whispered. "I'm in a crazy town with a girl that's possibly crazier. And I thought getting cussed out by an unhappy costumer was bad!"

At this the girl rolled her eyes at the clerk. "I told you that you could leave. There wasn't any reason for you to stay, mister." She began to click the flashlight on and off, nervously wondering what awaited her.

"Sunderland. And I'd stop doing that; you don't want to run the battery down." James commented, gently confiscating their only source of light.

"Fine," she groaned, rolling her hazel eyes good naturedly. "but let's get going. It's just going to get darker the longer we stay here."

Without waiting for a response, Laurel had turned and was walking off. Maybe a little running would warm her up.


	3. Chapter 3

"Laurel, are you sure we're heading in the right direction?" James asked, walking ahead. His voice seemed patient enough, but the scantily clad girl behind him wasn't so tolerant.

"D-Dunno." She shivered, rubbing her arms once again. Laurel felt like she could walk forever, but she wasn't feeling too great about her temperature.

"I don't understand why you couldn't have decided to put on warmer clothes before you went to bed." James mumbled, taking off his jacket and putting it around her shoulders. Laurel quickly stuck her arms in, glad to finally have a source of warmth in the cold town.

"Sorry, next time I have to go to a freezing hellhole I'll dress better. Does that make you feel better, Jamesie?" she shot back, scampering along after him.

"Only if you never call me that again." He smiled, but his attention was elsewhere. "Is that a map?" he pointed to a brick wall. She noted it, like everything else, was in a terrible state. Curiously enough, though, the map seemed to be on a nice sheet of paper with no traces of dirt on it.

Laurel walked toward it, nodding. There was a map of Silent Hill pinned to a wall, which she carefully took down, examining it. In seconds she began to turn it in a variety of different ways while James snickered as she moved her blue nails across it.

"Let me see it," he said, taking the map out of her hands as easily as the flashlight from earlier. "That's weird. Is the cabin you live in really close to Toluca Lake?"

"Well, yeah. Why? Is it not on the map?" a frantic look came into her hazel eyes. This couldn't be happening. She lived there, it existed!

Now he was going to think she was insane, which even Laurel herself was contemplating, but still! He had to believe her. She knew where she lived. That just wasn't something you simply forgot, like the name of a person you met at a party years ago.

"No, no, no. It's there." At this Laurel sighed in relief, looking at the map for herself. There was a giant red circle around a cabin, although she was sure that hadn't been there before. Then again, it was all just a mix of colors and lines and blocky shapes to her. "I didn't put that there; did you?"

She narrowed her eyes at this. "I don't even have pockets! Do you see me with a red marker?"

He shook his head, a bit of blonde hair falling in his eyes. It would've been cute had she not been so focused and confused. This wasn't a good combination, mind you.

"So… I'm lost. Do you know where we are?" It was a little shocking for Laurel to have to say that, but this Silent Hill couldn't be her own. Everything was different…

And it was so foggy and deserted, not like the resort town that she'd lived in for as long as she could remember, other than the trips to Brahms.

There should be people on the streets. Tourists heading back to hotels for the night. Any noise at all!

Instead there was the terrible nothingness. Rundown buildings that she knew couldn't possibly be in such a state of disrepair, and ruined cars on the side of the road. Not to mention the fact that she couldn't see a foot in front of her face with all of the idiotic fog.

It was a bit like her dreams, oddly enough. If James weren't here, she would've guessed that she was asleep again.

"I don't think we're going the right way; let's head back to my car and start over." Laurel nodded at this, happy that James even seemed to have a vague idea of where they were headed. Better to start back instead of becoming increasingly lost in the endless haze. They turned in unison, beginning the long walk back.

When they did make it to the car, the first thing Laurel noticed was a newly placed item on the hood. "Nice." She grinned wickedly, pointing the silver handgun at something in the distance. "Wish I'd had this in the school."

"God," James groaned, ignoring the gun-wielding girl beside him in favor of the car door. "It's locked. This freaking town…" He began to look at the map again, much to Laurel's dismay. The guy was totally missing out on her being a badass!

Turning around, he raised an eyebrow at Laurel, taking the gun away as quickly as everything else. The girl pouted, pushing stray strands of auburn hair back now that she had nothing to hold.

"Actually… take it back. I have too much in my hands already, and you're probably a better shot than me." James sighed, handing the gun back. She grinned, holding it carefully. Her pouting almost always worked.

"Maybe. We should look for ammo while we go. I figure that if a revolver shows up this easily, something to put in it will too. I mean, it seems to be loaded, but anything could happen."

Like her turning out to be a terrible shot and getting them both killed. But, hey, what were the chances of that happening?

"Okay, I think we need to go this way." He quickly checked the map again. "Yeah, come on."

He moved rather quickly for a man who'd never been here. Laurel ran after him, irritated. She was in slippers, for god's sake! It probably wouldn't be so great if they ended up separated. Luckily, he stopped suddenly and backed up.

"Thanks for finally waiting on me," Laurel grinned, catching his arm and spinning. He caught her quickly, dragging her backwards. When she looked up at him questioningly, he turned her around; of course his fingers were still clutching her shoulders tightly, figuring Laurel was the type of person that may just walk over the edge without thinking.

Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat at the sight. "It's like everything just…ends," she gasped, looking at the jagged ending of a road. "This isn't home."

And, although it was alarmingly cliché even in her book, Laurel fainted.

As her knees buckled, James picked her up and began to walk away from the edge. It was time to check for new routes.

"Hah, seriously?" the little blonde girl sang. She plopped herself down on a patch of dead grass, the grayness of it all seeming to have no effect on her.

"Did I really pass out?" Laurel asked, embarrassed that she'd probably given the girl something to laugh about.

"Yep! Nice of that clerk guy to keep you safe, though. I think he likes you, but he'll probably die anyways." She pulled out a large clump of grass, looked at it a moment, then tossed it in the older girl's direction.

"How would you know?" she asked, brushing off the dead grass that, thanks to Blondie, was now attached to her nightgown. "The future is always changing… I heard someone say that once."

For some reason she was becoming progressively more dependent on her new clerk buddy. Also strangely protective. Weird!

"Well, your decisions might change things a little." She said, fixing her ponytail and sticking her tongue out.

"Exactly, Blondie. You really do need to tell me your name." Laurel grinned, sticking her tongue out in the same childish manner.

"I cannn'ttt, so stop asking me that." She complained. "Why don't you try the school, now? I'm sure you've left some memories there," the girl snickered, beginning to fade with the dream.

"Ugh, I hate it when people change the subject…"

"Well, I haven't really said anything," James said dryly, setting Laurel down. She grunted something indiscernible in response and leaned on him while fixing her slipper. The once soft fabric was now rough and torn, a sign that she would surely be barefoot before long.

This wasn't going to be easy. Or fun, for that matter.

"Do you see Midwich Elementary on that map?" she asked, thinking back to the little girl. That kid was strange, and she had an uncanny resemblance to someone she knew. Nevertheless, she liked her.

"Um, yeah, right here," he pointed to it on the map. Laurel looked over curiously as she began to follow him once again. Guy could read a map, apparently that put him in charge.

"Good. Care for a little detour? I have a feeling it's where I need to go." She carefully left off the part about the little girl in her dream telling her, that was a little odd even for this situation.

James sighed, changing directions once again. "Whatever you say. Off to Old Silent Hill it is, then."

**a/n: So, this is the first story I've ever wrote that made it to chapter three! *Celebration dance* I love my readers… all 69 of you.**

**That would've been a lot less awkward had one more person read this xD. **

**So, Laurel and James are headed to the school. Can anybody guess what memories she left at Midwich? Virtual cookies for anybody who's close! **


	4. Chapter 4

After a long walk and a lot of complaining from the nearly shoeless Laurel, she smiled. "There's that stupid building," she whispered. She couldn't remember a time when the thing hadn't seemed foreboding, although whatever her feelings had been as a child, they were now multiplied.

"You went to school here?" James asked, raising an eyebrow like he always did upon finding something unusual about Laurel.

"Um, yeah. You see any other Midwich Elementary around here, Jamesie?" Laurel laughed quietly, putting a hand on his head and messing up his hair.

The clerk gave her a whisper of a smile, gently taking her hand away and holding it for a moment. Within seconds he'd fixed his hair as well as possible and was looking off into the distance. "Nope. One creepy elementary must be enough for this town. How long did you go here?"

"About a year or so. The kids were _freaks! _Then some stuff happened and my parents thought it would be best to homeschool me." She gripped her hand tightly, already missing his touch.

Laurel dropped it, figuring she was being weird. After all, James was being really quiet and she didn't enjoy the silence. All she could do now was talk.

"My dad wanted us to move to Shepherd's Glen, 'cause apparently his family was something to do with the founding or whatever. It doesn't matter to me, because my grandpa changed his last name to Shepard and moved to Brahms when my dad was a kid. And of course mom wanted to stay in her hometown… which is here, if you hadn't guessed. So eventually they just separated." It was a long, confusing thing she'd just said. Her clerk friend didn't even seem to be paying attention.

"Gun. Give it to me _now_." James shouted. Laurel was about to protest when he pulled it out of her hand roughly and shot something behind her. Whipping around, several strands of auburn locks hit James in the face while she panicked. A dog… well, something that resembled a very scary doglike thing, lay dead on the ground.

"I thought you were going to shoot me," she whispered, eyes widened in shock. Her mouth was open in a ridiculous looking way.

He shook his head, and she put her hands around his waist, burying her pretty little face in his chest. James put a hand in her hair, running it through in a way he hoped was comforting and not creepy.

"You weren't lying. Apparently you live in a town of strange things. God, what did I do to deserve this?" James asked himself. Laurel didn't think he'd actually wanted a reply from her so she stayed silent.

After a moment he seemed to pale a bit, but the seventeen year old was quick to shake his reaction off. Maybe she needed glasses or something, or maybe home sweet home had decided they were in need of a mental mind fuck. Either way, life was not so great right now. Even in James's jacket she was cold due to lack of proper footwear. Some socks or something would've be nice, but the seemingly troubled clerk had given her enough help and clothing already.

"That was different. The school monster was all gray and weird. Not a demon dog," she replied gently, taking her gun back. "Maybe it's a sign we're wasting time chatting and need to just walk in." And walk in they did, with Laurel holding her one weapon close and James behind her, still looking like he'd seen a ghost.

It became obvious rather quickly that this school was definitely not the way she remembered it. Maybe it was time to fire the janitor, because if the walls and floor weren't enough, she could make out bits of mold growing in cracks.

"Any idea where we're supposed to go?" James asked. Laurel shook her head, a small frown forming on her face. As she moved down the hallway, her torn shoes making little noise compared to her friend's bulky boots, she put her hand to the wall. It had a gritty feeling and was unpleasant on her skin, but she left it. The feeling of stability was nice.

It wasn't that holding James wouldn't be even better, but there really wasn't time for it. Not to mention that she didn't like the direction her mind was going in.

"Maybe we could check out some of the classes?" she suggested, removing her hand from the wall and trying a door. The lock was broken, like many of the others, and she wouldn't be getting in. Maybe it was only important classes that were open. Clever, to whoever thought it up.

Noticing her predicament, James worked quickly to find an unlocked door. She appeared at his side, immediately taking the lead without as much as a thank you. She did have the gun, though. This earned respect, she guessed.

Gently stepping through, she took a moment to notice that another gray monster thing was in it. At least now she wouldn't have to clipboard it to death. Taking aim, it was all over for the monster quickly. Just in case, and also for the freak out from before, she kicked it. Hard.

And the bottom of her right slipper fell off.

"Shit!" she whisper-shouted, looking at James in the hopes that he could randomly manifest a new pair of shoes. "James, look for duct tape." She called. In the near darkness, she thought she saw him roll his eyes.

_Ass, _she whispered under her breath, picking up the bottom of her shoe.

Laurel searched the class, finding a bag on one of the tables in the back. It was obviously intended for a child, but she could carry it just as well. "Backpack, backpack!" she sang in a small voice, pulling what was left of her right shoe off and putting the whole thing in. She squeaked happily when she saw a box of ammo on another table, reloading and putting what was left with her shoe in the bag.

With all of this happening, she'd never noticed that James had left the room until he came in to find her. "I got another door opened," he murmured, putting his hand on her back. She found herself shivering at the feeling, but it only lasted a moment.

"Thought I told you to look for duct tape, not open doors." She whispered, her voice holding no heat. She couldn't be mad at him with all of his helpfulness. "Do you want me to walk around like this forever?" she wiggled her toes, standing out awkwardly with her slightly warmer left foot.

"Isn't it bad luck to walk around with one shoe?" James mused.

"Well, I'm certainly not taking the other off, if that's what you're expecting! Besides, it's not like it can get any worse than this." She grumbled, pushing him slightly. "Now take me to this class."

For once while inside the school, James was back in the lead and he lovedit. This was mostly due to the fact that he knew how much his friend hated to have to follow him around. She was a leader and she wasn't one to share.

Laurel quickly realized she was giving him the wrong idea in this, taking the lead when she assumed she knew what door he was talking about. "It's actually—" he was cut off as she walked in the door she'd chosen.

Seconds passed before he finally gave up and walked in after her.

His new auburn haired comrade was already crouched over, examining something carefully. He immediately noticed a quiet noise, but couldn't tell if she was making it or even where it was coming from in the room. Before he could say a word, there was a flash of auburn hair and pale skin in the back of the room. She raised a pink nail to her light pink lips, smirking all the while.

"James?" Laurel asked as she turned her eyes red and cheeks tear-streaked. He silently realized that the noise he'd heard was her crying.

The headstrong and odd Laurel Shepard had cried for no apparent reason. He didn't understand why that made him feel so empty, but it did. Tough girls didn't just break, did they?

She turned away from him, shoving a piece of paper in the backpack she'd taken from the other classroom and walking towards a window. James found himself looking for Laurel's look alike, but she was gone. Somewhere in the distance he heard a siren, seemingly so far away and gut-wrenchingly close at the same time.

The world began to change around them and all they could do was sit there as it happened.

Laurel lifted herself up into the opening as James walked over, taking her hand. The siren continued to blare in the distance as her mind went blank and the world darkened.

**a/n: Hello lovelies! I'm happy to see that people are actually still reading this. (Two follows and a favorite!) That's gotta be a record for me. I've started school and have just gotten my wisdom teeth out, but I will continue to update every week or so. You guys are awesome!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Lovely," Laurel said in a sarcastic tone, gripping his hand tightly. "I'm just _so _excited to see what that entails." While at the window, however dirty it was, she could just make out the outside world. It looked worse than she remembered it, even compared to minutes before.

As the sound died away, she knew that something had happened. Slowly she closed her eyes and turned away from the window, not wanting to see but knowing it was impossible to avoid it at the same time. The first thing her eyes came to was James looking horrified, then the appalling sight.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" she groaned.

The walls were no longer the gritty thing she'd had her hand on just ten minutes before, but rusty and bloody. "Wasn't this cement before? Cement doesn't rust, does it?" she commented with the detached voice she'd come to use more often than usual.

Of course, the walls now looked metallic, so she shouldn't have been surprised. In fact, this looked a little bit like the places she'd seen in her dreams lately. Maybe this was the little girl's doing.

Blondie was going to get a serious talking to if Laurel had anything to say about it.

"James, I want you to listen closely. Things are going to happen… maybe worse than before," she looked guiltily down at her one shoe, recalling his words that it was 'bad luck' from earlier. "But no matter what, we just keep running... and shooting, until I run out of ammo or can't reload. If we can help each other at all, stay; but if it's useless and we'll both die, I want you to go. Better one of us lives than neither."

She knew for a fact that it would kill her if James actually did leave her to die… but of course it would be for his own good and she wouldn't hold it against him.

Without giving him the chance to take it in, Laurel was dragging him across the room, running with little thought on direction. In the hallway, she began to run further down, not going back the way they'd came in. James didn't know if she could tell, but the walls seemed to be pulsing. Perhaps it only appeared that way to him.

Glimpses into open doors of classrooms were all either of them could see, looking the same or even worse than the one they'd started in.

That's when the noises began. The crashes and screams and flapping of something completely invisible to him. Laurel began to close her eyes and he wondered if the noises actually belonged to something he wasn't meant to see.

Did that mean it couldn't hurt him? Nevertheless, James didn't like to think about getting attacked by something imperceptible.

Shots rang out, panicked and unsure. He knew immediately that Laurel was not coping well in the slightest, and he couldn't fight her demons for her, however much he wanted to. This was obviously meant for the girl who was looking more apprehensive by the second.

James couldn't imagine what she could've done to deserve this. Even murdering someone shouldn't cause something like this whole freaking town. Of course, maybe she was just an innocent bystander, having to deal with it even though it wasn't deserved. He liked to think that one was the real reason things had gotten so weird.

The auburn haired girl let go, much to James's dismay, turning around and tilting her head in curiosity. The monster, an odd, leathery thing with small black wings that didn't seem as if it could support its large body shrieked a final time and fell. "I hit it?" she asked dazedly, a strange haze seizing her.

"—y, baby. I'm sorry…" a dull voice murmured though it. The sound of a little girl crying rang in her ears.

Laurel paused, turning around. James was gone, and she wasn't in the school anymore. Instead she was in a small room with bright pink walls covered in butterfly stickers—a shocking change from where she'd been for the last couple of hours. Other than that, it was what she would assume to be the norm for a child of about five or so.

There was a door beside her, halfway open, next to which the voices continued to speak in between the child's disgruntled sobs. "What did she say, sweetie?" what could only be assumed as the mother asked, sounding tired.

"She—" the child was cut off by her loud sniffles. "She told me that it was 'cause of you!" More cries, along with a loud wail that made the eavesdropping seventeen year old wince.

"Baby, I told you what happened. It isn't my fault, or yours or any one else's. Okay?" The woman's voice began to rise as she continued to speak. "Dammit Laurel! Listen to me."

Laurel jumped back in surprise.

"Does this place go on like this?" James asked, stopping for breath. Laurel stood a few feet behind him, a dazed look on her face. "Laurel?! Laurel!" he slapped her.

"What the hell, James!" Laurel asked, rubbing her cheek. At least she was back to normal for now, because they needed to get going. "Come on, I think I know where to go."

She ran and ran, although she wasn't about to let her clerk know she had no idea where she was heading. Her head was spinning. That had been her room… she could hardly believe that she hadn't remembered the butterfly wallpaper.

That little girl. Herself? The mother. Her mother?

Laurel felt a migraine coming on.

What had they even been talking about? For the life of her, the teenager couldn't remember that conversation. What _had_ happened, anyway?

"Didn't you say you broke a window out in a school in Brahms?" James asked, stopping. His sudden stop caused the girl to whirl around in a dazed loop. She nodded, obviously not getting where he was going with this. She could scarcely bring herself to open her eyes. The weird memory was becoming an intriguing thing that just kept replaying in her mind.

He pointed to a large broken window at the end of a hall with papers scattered around and…

"Is that girl…dead?" Laurel asked, eyes widening as she walked over to the body. "Everything looks the same, but that gray monster thing was here and I definitely didn't kill it." _You did this somehow, _a small voice whispered in her mind.

_Shut the hell up, _she thought back half-heartedly.

Neither had realized the world was back to normal yet. Or, at least, as normal as it got around here.

James looked more closely, knowing the girl to be Laurel's look alike from earlier. Now she had blonde hair, although it was easy to tell it had been dyed, although there would clearly have been no time for that in between their last meeting. A single pink coated nail was on her lips, as if telling him to keep quiet about it. The seventeen year old was crouched over the body, looking traumatized. Wordlessly cursing Silent Hill, he looked around for any sign of the anomalies that this town was plagued with.

When he looked back she had passed out, her backpack on her stomach and the gun dangling from her fingers. Maybe she'd recognized the girl? Or maybe she'd just been freaked out that they looked so much alike…

"What was that? I thought you were supposed to be brave." The little blonde girl asked, irritated. She was met with quiet sobs from the older girl, her head on her knees rocking back on forth on the dead grass of her dream world. She immediately felt a bit of remorse for the previous statement.

"Did you do that?" Laurel questioned, still sobbing. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy. Not the image of beauty, exactly.

Blondie perked up at this, moving closer. "Do what?" she reached out to the crying girl, and then pulled back, unsure. There was something different about the older girl this time.

"Whatever _that _was. That different place. The monster, the dead girl, everything." Laurel fell back, pulling up dead grass and tossing it away with an irritated growl.

"Oh, that wasn't me. That was you. Don't you realize your mind keeps causing you most of these problems?" Blondie said matter-of-factly.

She was met with a whisper of "Liar."

"Laurel, it's just going to get worse if you don't start understanding what it's trying to tell you!" This got a response from the girl.

She looked up curiously, wiping away her tears and adjusting her nightie. "What do you mean by that? 'It' isn't telling me anything! It's killing people and screwing with my mind. And this! I've never felt more like a narcoleptic than now, it's like you just bring me here when you feel like it!"

"Kinda, but that's mostly you." Blondie admitted, readjusting her ponytail once again. For a moment, Laurel's only thought was _someone's developing a nervous habit_. "What I mean is, if you could get the symbolism behind things it would be over. You just have to admit what you've done. Then you and Mr. Clerk Guy can leave together!"

She certainly had a more positive outlook than Laurel could muster up.

Laurel's eyes widened in indignation. "Well what exactly did I do?" she demanded, no longer feeling safe with the little girl. It was like blackmail, except she had no idea what she would have to hide.

Blondie looked up with big, innocent blue eyes and a sly smile. "How should I know? But you don't want James to lose faith in you, right? Just wake up and tell him what you've done. He won't hate you. You're not the only one who keeps secrets," she grinned cruelly, then, as an afterthought, added "Blondie."

"Secrets? No… Just no, I will _not _let you mess with my one claim to sanity here. I would've killed myself before now without James." Laurel growled, a fierce light in her eyes that left Blondie wondering. What the little girl had no idea of were the wheels turning in the auburn haired girl's mind. She was indeed no blonde, although the girl at the school had been.

That strange, dead blonde with the familiar face.

Laurel thought she could strangle the kid in that moment.

Upon awakening, she was quick to realize that she was on a desk in a semi-normal classroom. James sat in a ridiculously small chair beside her, looking worried and unsure.

"She's such a bitch," she muttered in a resigned voice. "Not unlike myself."

James perked up at the sound of her voice, obviously more than a little zoned out. That was dangerous in this nightmare of a place. She was quickly reassured as she lifted herself up to see a shut door and James holding her gun.

"Do you always pass out randomly?" he asked curiously, watching her small frame scoot off of the desk and begin to move around the class, likely checking for ammo. He was answered with a glare, but her eyes didn't show any anger.

All he could see in the blazing hazel ponds were contemplation and uncertainty. Maybe she was supposed to tell him something…

Or maybe she knew something about him.

The thought made his stomach churn. He'd been working as a clerk for a couple of years, and enjoyed the routine, although his coworkers assured him that he would eventually grow to hate it. Although that still hadn't happened, there had been one thing about a year ago that had made him reconsider some things.

The look in her eyes had to mean she knew. He didn't need to take the risk, but he'd given up so much for her already. She continued to search through desks and drawers, sighing in frustration when one was jammed or the sleeve of the jacket she was wearing—his jacket, got caught as she shoved another closed.

She didn't know, and she couldn't.

When she finally turned, her eyes had changed yet again, showing she'd decided on something. Hopefully it didn't involve him getting gunned down.

"James," Laurel said, her features twisted into a smile he'd never seen her wear before. If ever there had been a time to feel uncomfortable around his much smaller friend, it was now. "Come here, will you?" When he stood still, she tilted her head in an unnatural angle and moved forward with the unbothered ease that had never been in the Laurel he knew. In moments her lips were inches away from his, her face and aura filled with something unexpected.

Pure, unbridled hate.

"I know you, James. I know _everything_." She said in a different voice, her eyes glittering with delusional delight.

"Everything? No… no, you don't. You couldn't." He blinked in confusion, rubbing his eyes.

"But I do, to an extent. You've been here before, haven't you? You're familiar with this place?" This person wasn't Laurel, but the fact that whatever was messing with him had her face added an extra layer of creepy to the whole thing.

The blonde man shook his head. She had to go away. "No." he whispered, not wanting to listen but intrigued at the same time. She backed up finally, taking him in.

"If you don't tell her she will know all the same. You have made yourself a part of her life, but it wasn't supposed to be like this. In fact," the girl in front of him tapped Laurel's pale arm, as if there were a watch there. "You're early."

James sighed wearily, not wanting to play along with this weird little game for any longer than necessary. "Early?"

She looked at him, the hate still evident, but now with an added mix of boredom. "What you've done was wrong, but not enough for you to truly feel guilty. No, not yet. You staying with your lovely Laurel was by chance, not the typical reason for someone to come to Silent Hill. You'll still come again, but that will be worked out soon."

He groaned, wanting this all to end. Finally her features faded back into the girl he knew, causing him to breathe a sigh of relief. It was nice to see a friendly face after whatever the hell _that_ had been.

"Earth to James! I found some duct tape." Laurel grinned goofily at him, holding her beloved duct tape up and sticking her tongue out while she got her ruined slipper from the backpack and taped it up. Slipping the odd looking footwear on made her feel a little bit better about herself.

Things could be fixed, apparently, which gave her a slightly more hopeful outlook. Although they were probably still going to die, but whatever, she was going to make peace with it and hope it somehow worked out for James.

The atmosphere had changed once again. It made James more uncomfortable than he was willing to admit, and it made Laurel feel eerie, as if she'd just missed something weird go down.

"And now we can go. I think I know how to get home now, but I can't," she said casually, tossing the tape into her bag. "It feels good to have both of my feet covered again, though. Nice thing, warmth is." She commented, pulling his jacket tightly around herself.

"What do you mean?" James asked, feeling strange. This town was… influencing him in weird ways. They needed to get out as soon as possible, which meant getting Laurel home and then the two of them getting the hell out of Dodge. She wasn't thinking of staying, was she?

Laurel sighed. "I didn't tell you about Blondie, but it doesn't matter, because either way I'm screwed."

The clerk took in her expression, although exactly what she was feeling didn't shine through. She looked sad enough, but with something else. "Laur, what do you mean?" he repeated. "We're going to get you home, if that's what you're so worried about."

"Oh, James," she looked at him, her face still wearing that odd expression. "I don't think I can go home. I think every way will be like the freaking endless pit we started at, and it'll stay that way until I say what I've done."

So that's what all of those contemplating looks were. He still had hope yet. But what she'd said was disturbing… "What did you do? You can tell me, Laurel." _But I can't tell you, _he silently added.

She looked up at him warily. "I don't know, but Blondie said… I... She said something about you too, James. But, I..."

She took in the friendly face that had been saving her from the horrors of this town since they'd got there. The still slightly messed up blonde hair, the understanding green eyes.

She'd been right. No way could this man have done anything to deserve this. "I don't believe her. I mean, wouldn't _I _be the first to know that I'd done something terrible? Kids a liar, clearly."

For a moment James allowed himself to wonder if she knew how completely wrong she was about him.

**a/n: Apologies for the long wait, my internet has been all weird. On the bright side, this chapter was longer than usual, so hopefully you enjoyed it. I edited and added a lot to it, and I'm worried you guys might not have liked the result… needless to say; I'd really appreciate a review on this one. Thanks a bunch! :)**


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